Denominational  Privilege 

- and - 

Denominational  Obligation 


Rev.  Robert  M.  Martin 


sc  )i  »  BOSTON  :  sc  sc  sc  sc 
AMERICAN  BAPTIST  MISSIONARY 
UNION.  TREMONT  TEMPLE 


following  address  was  delivered 
by  Rev.  Robert  M.  Martin  at  a 
Missionary  Conference  held  in  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  Salem,  Mass.,  No¬ 
vember,  1901. 


Denominational  Privilege  a^nd 
Denominational  Obligation 


PROVIDENTIAL  guidance  is  more 
easily  traced  in  the  careers  of  some 
persons  and  organizations  than  of  others. 
The  divine  hand  is  plainly  seen  in 
the  foreign  mission  work  of  our  Bap¬ 
tist  churches.  God  honored  us  in  making 
the  English  Baptists  the  pioneers  of  the 
modern  missionary  movement  under  the 
leadership  of  Carey,  whom  Mr.  George 
Smith  calls  the  greatest  missionary  since 
Paul.  It  was  a  notable  providence  which 
brought  our  American  Baptist  foreign 
missionary  society  into  being.  Who  but 
God  would  have  planned  the  conversion 
of  Judson  and  Rice  to  Baptist  views, 
while  they,  on  different  ships,  were  sailing 
to  India  to  begin  a  work  in  distant  lands 
to  which  they  had  called  the  Congrega- 
tionalists  who  sent  them?  Happv  men, 
Judson  and  Rice,  to  have  had  so  conspic¬ 
uous  a  part  in  the  formation  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  of 
Foreign  Missions  and  of  the  American 
Baptist  Missionary  Union! 

The  Baptists  followed  God’s  pillar  of 
cloud,  when  we  organized  our  foreign 
missionary  society  in  1814.  The  pillar  of 
cloud  led  us  also  to  our  first  field  of  for¬ 
eign  labor.  Judson  was  limited  to  one 


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ship  sailing  from  Madras,  on  which  he 
could  leave  the  inhospitable  domain  of  the 
East  India  Company.  That  ship  going  to 
Rangoon  carried  Judson  against  his  own 
choice  to  Burma,  the  country  of  God’s 
choice.  We  were  beckoned  to  Assam  by 
its  English  Commissioner,  Capt.  Francis 
Jenkins,  whose  finger,  we  must  believe,  in 
view  of  the  achievements  in  that  field,  was 
the  finger  of  God.  The  God  who  gave 
us  Judson  and  Rice  from  an  unex¬ 
pected  quarter,  made  us  yet  another  gift 
quite  as  noteworthy,  when  by  the  hand  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Guinness,  in  1884,  the  Liv¬ 
ingstone  Inland  Mission  on  the  Congo, 
with  six  stations  and  twenty-five  mission¬ 
aries,  was  transferred  to  our  Missionary 
Union,  a  transaction  without  a  parallel  in 
missionary  annals. 

The  providence  which  so  plainly  as¬ 
signed  our  tasks  has  generously  bestowed 
prosperity.  We  have  today  in  Burma 
39,065  communicants.  Mention  of  the 
triumphs  of  Christianity  in  the  regions 
beyond  may  not  fail  to  give  prominent 
place  to  the  signal  grace  of  God  bestowed 
on  us  in  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel 
among  the  Karens  of  Burma,  who  have 
flocked  to  our  missionaries,  seeking  the 
Redeemer  of  their  dreams.  Our  Telugu- 
land,  which  after  thirty  years  of  almost 
fruitless  toil  was  “the  lone  star”  of  the 
Baptists  in  India  proper,  whose  light  was 
several  times  in  danger  of  extinction,  has 
now  58,418  baptized  Christians.  We  re¬ 
member  the  Pentecostal  summer  of  1878, 


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when  natural  famine  gendered  spiritual 
plenty,  and  one  brief  month  and  a  half 
witnessed  the  baptism  of  8,691  persons, 
2,222  in  one  day.  Not  unmindful  of  the 
marvelous  missionary  achievements  in 
the  Fiji  Islands,  in  Hawaii,  in  Japan,  and 
even  in  Madagascar,  we  may  perhaps  re¬ 
cord  the  victory  of  the  gospel  in  Telugu- 
land  as  the  crown  of  glory  in  the  modern 
missionary  enterprise.  Even  yet  without 
abatement  our  Telugu  Zion  is  going  from 
strength  to  strength,  the  largest,  and  per¬ 
haps  the  most  hopeful  field  under  the  care 
of  any  body  of  Christians  on  the  whole 
earth.  In  its  fields  in  Asia  and  Africa  the 
American  Baptist  Missionary  Union  has 
112,163  communicants,  a  conquest  of  souls 
from  heathenism  far  exceeding  that  of  any 
other  missionary  society  anywhere, — aeon- 
quest  not  won  by  Baptists,  but  granted 
them  by  the  gracious  heart  of  God. 

To  ascertain  our  Missionary  Union’s 
place  of  privilege  on  the  foreign  field  let 
us  compare  the  results  of  its  endeavor 
with  the  results  of  the  five  other  societies 
of  our  own  country,  which  made  the 
largest  pecuniary  contributions  to  foreign 
work  according  to  the  reports  of  1899- 
1900.  Far  be  it  from  a  Baptist  to  enter 
into  this  comparison  in  any  spirit  of  vain¬ 
glory.  The  statistics  themselves  will 
show  that  according  to  standards  of 
human  measurement  the  larger  fruitage 
should  have  been  gathered  by  others 
rather  than  by  us.  With  humiliation,  not 
with  boastfulness,  the  inquiry  is  pursued. 


The  five  organizations  in  the  estimate 
with  our  own  are,  in  the  order  of  the 
amounts  contributed,  the  Methodist  Epis¬ 
copal  (North),  the  Presbyterian  (North), 
the  Congregational,  the  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal,  and  the  Disciples.  Note  that  the 
estimate  excludes  the  work  of  any  of 
these  agencies  in  European  countries. 
The  Methodist  contributions  were  nearly 
twice  as  large  as  ours.  The  combined 
amounts  of  the  Presbyterians  and  Con- 
gregationalists  were  almost  three  times  as 
large.  The  five  societies  contributed  six 
times  as  much  money  as  our  Missionary 
Union.  They  have  four  and  a  half  times  as 
many  American  workers  in  foreign  lands. 
Yet  our  Union’s  increase  of  members  for 
the  year  reported,  was  more  than  half 
the  increase  of  the  five  other  societies, 
about  52.8  per  cent  (15,690 — 8,283).  Our 
Union  also  reports  a  total  of  more  than 
half  as  many  comunicants  as  the  five 
societies  together,  about  55.4  per  cent 
(189,638—105,212). 

No  man  will  assert  that  this  advantage 
has  come  to  the  Missionary  Union  be¬ 
cause  of  any  superiority  in  our  spirit,  in 
our  agents,  or  in  our  methods.  There 
was  probably  as  much  consecration  in  the 
gifts  of  our  brethren,  as  much  devotion 
and  ability  in  their  workers,  and  as  much 
wisdom  in  their  methods.  The  figures 
demonstrate  that  we  have  not  merited 
these  large  returns.  Who  may  attribute 
our  prosperity  to  any  source  but  to  the 
inscrutable  ordering  and  the  mysterious 


4 


grace  of  Him  who  holds  in  his  hands  the 
seven  stars?  Not  to  our  brethren  dis¬ 
credit,  and  to  us  praise;  but  to  the  divine 
name  the  glory. 

While,  moreover,  the  Baptists  of  the 
United  States  have  been  doing  something 
for  the  heathen,  they  have  grown  from  a 
hundred  thousand  or  less  to  about  four 
million,  four  hundred  thousand  at  home. 
By  reason  of  our  signal  favor  from  the 
Most  High  we  are  not  to  count  ourselves 
the  favorites  of  heaven.  We  are  rather 
to  reflect  that  high  privilege  imposes  deep 
obligation.  This  blessing  should  stir  us 
to  gratitude  and  praise.  Heaven’s  loving 
kindness  should  win  us  to  love  and  devo¬ 
tion.  Great  reward,  undeserved,  should 
bring  us  to  humility.  We  shall  show 
ourselves  renegade,  if  gracious  exaltation 
does  not  induce  to  a  sense  of  serious 
responsibility.  Unto  whom  much  is  given, 
of  him  is  much  required.  We  shall  not 
mistake  in  accounting  God’s  goodness  as 
his  loud  call  to  more  strenuous  service, 
more  service  in  money,  more  service  in 
men. 

What  now  is  the  Baptist  response  to  the 
divine  entreaty?  It  may  not  be  said  that 
we  have  turned  a  deaf  ear.  In  the  decade 
closing  with  1891  the  annual  receipts  of 
our  Missionary  Union  from  all  sources 
averaged  less  than  $375, 000;  whereas  in 
the  last  decade  the  receipts  averaged 
nearly  $600,000  ($599,172).  In  the  pre¬ 
vious  decade  the  average  of  male  mission¬ 
aries  sent  out  was  eleven;  in  the  last  dc- 


5 


cade  the  average  was  thirteen  and  five- 
tenths.  This  is  progress;  but  not  the 
progress  worthy  of  our  blessings  or  com¬ 
mensurate  with  the  demands  of  the  work. 
While  the  advancing  cause  has  required 
enlargement,  our  laggard  giving  has  ne¬ 
cessitated  retrenchment  in  recent  years. 
New  doors  open  to  us  in  vast,  untouched 
realms  of  darkness;  few  are  entered. 
The  name  of  the  Philippines  springs  from 
the  lips  of  us  all,  but  that  is  a  door  into 
which  we  were  thrust.  In  this  new  day 
we  confront  an  anomaly.  Once  we 
prayed  for  open  doors  and  men.  Now, 
doors  are  open,  and  men  are  begging  to 
be  permitted  to  enter;  while  a  meagre 
treasury  keeps  them  begging.  Money  is 
cheaper  than  men  and  generally  is  easier 
to  obtain,  but  alas!  the  covetousness  of 
the  many  now  fetters  feet  which  long  to 
be  on  the  mountains  to  bring  glad  tidings, 
to  publish  peace. 

A  goodly  heritage  is  our  Baptist  fellow¬ 
ship,  and  nobly  worthy  of  the  respect  of 
us  all;  though  at  one  thing  some  Baptist 
cheeks  redden  and  some  Baptist  hearts 
beat  low.  That  one  thing  is  the  feeble¬ 
ness  of  our  answer  to  urgent  calls  of  God 
for  the  best  investment  of  money ;  that 
one  thing,  that  with  inappreciation  and 
distrust  and  on  halting  foot  we  follow  the 
ark  of  Jehovah.  O,  the  sin  and  the  shame 
of  it  in  view  of  heaven’s  exceptional  grace 
to  us,  superadded  to  the  grace  which 
shines  upon  all  in  “the  light  of  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of 

6 


Jesus  Christ” !  Our  denomination’s  privi¬ 
lege  is  our  denomination’s  obligation. 
Receiving  more  than  others  should  find 
its  meet  adornment  in  giving  more  than 
others;  the  giving,  of  course,  not  of  hu¬ 
man  measurement,  but  of  divine,  the  first 
giving  of  the  “willing  mind,  which  is  ac¬ 
cepted,  according  to  that  a  man  hath 
and  not  according  to  that  he  hath  not.” 
We  are  called  into  the  kingdom  for  such 
a  time  as  this.  If  we  rise  mot  to  our  task 
of  honor,  we  need  not  be  surprised  if  with 
shame  and  confusion  of  face  we  see  an¬ 
other  people,  more  faithful  than  ourselves, 
chosen  by  God  to  bring  deliverance 
to  the  unevangelized  whom  we  neg¬ 
lected. 

The  law  of  rivers  is  that  they  shall  in¬ 
crease  their  volume  of  water  as  they  ap¬ 
proach  their  mouth.  Some  recent  writer 
has  noted  the  fact  that  the  river  Nile 
violates  this  law.  Its  waters  diminish 
from  a  point  a  thousand  miles  above  its 
mouth.  The  thirsty  sands  make  exacting 
draughts  on  the  mighty  stream.  Nature, 
in  apparent  resentment  at  the  transgres¬ 
sion  of  the  Nile,  has  withheld  tributaries 
for  the  last  eleven  hundred  miles  of  its 
course. 

“There  is  a  sea,  which  day  by  day 

Receives  the  rippling  rills  [plains. 
And  streams,  which  spring  from  sunny 
Or  fall  from  cedared  hills. 

But  what  it  thus  receives  it  gives 
With  glad  and  generous  hand; 


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And  a  stream  more  wide  with  a  fuller 
Flows  down  from  land  to  land.  [tide 
But  doth  it  lose  by  giving?  Nay, 

Its  shores  of  beauty  see 
The  life  and  health  and  fruitful  wealth 
Of  Galilee. 

“There  is  a  sea  which  day  by  day 
Receives  a  fuller  tide; 

But  what  it  gains  it  keeps,  nor  gives 
To  shore  nor  sea  beside. 

What  gains  its  grasping  greed? 

Behold,  barrenness  round  its  shore; 

Its  fruit  of  lust,  like  apples  of  dust. 
Rotten  from  rind  to  core; 

Its  Jordan  water  turned  to  brine 
Lies  heavy  as  molten  lead. 

And  its  dreadful  name  doth  e’er  proclaim 
That  sea  is  dead.” 

Denominational  privilege  is  denomina¬ 
tional  obligation.  Failure  to  meet  our 
obligation  will  be  dishonor  in  the  sight 
of  other  churches  and  in  the  sight  of  the 
world.  Failure  to  rise  to  our  high  privi¬ 
lege  will  be  humiliation  in  the  eye  of  our 
gracious  Lord,  who  will  mourn  over  us, 
“How  often  would  I,  and  ye  would  not!’ 
To  meet  our  obligation  will  be  high  privi¬ 
lege  glorified. 


LITERATURE  DEPARTMENT 
AMERICAN  BAPTIST  MISSIONARY  UNION 
TREMONT  TEMPLE,  BOSTON,  MASS. 

8 


EAFLETS,  Collection  Boxes,  En¬ 


velopes  and  other  helps  for 
stimulating  missionary  interest  and 
giving  can  be  obtained  by  addressing 
Literature  Department,  American 
Baptist  Missionary  Union, 
Tremont  Temple,  Boston,  Mass. 


